Whoops!

OK, OK, I know. I've been hiding for a year on this blog. Maybe I've been in a funk, a mental block or whatever. One thing may be that I destroyed my 'good' camera and haven't had the drive to send out photos and tales. The last time I posted, Darlene and I were still in the 'Maui' mode.

For a while, I thought I had some kind of entitlement to states with palm tree in them.

Also, I've been in a new phase at work, flitting from one short term location to another. Over the past year, I've been in Arkansas, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Connecticut, Florida, a couple of shots at Texas and a couple more in Louisiana. My bags are worn out.

I promise to be much better in the future.

Magnum P.I. I'm not

Feeling like Magnum P.I......not really...but hey, it's a theme. We've been here on Maui for a couple of weeks already, in the home of friends who are off gallivanting somewhere in Indonesia. When they left, they tossed us the keys to the truck, house and gave us the run of everything. So in a sense, I feel like Tom Selleck's Magnum P.I. from the television series 25 years ago, only this time instead of a really handsome hunk, you get me. Actually, I have more in common with the likes of Higgins than Magnum but we're digressing here.

Instead of an exotic sports car, Rachel handed over the keys to her Yamaha V Star. So after several days of diving, I took her motorcycle for a partial tour of Maui. I'm sure all the motorcycle gurus would absolutely freak out that I wore no helmet, gloves, leather jacket or steel toed boots but instead, sneakers, baseball cap and T shirt. A couple of the pictures were taken while on the move. Honest, officer. I wasn't texting.

It's been several years since I've owned a smaller motorcycle but the 650 cc engine did just fine with me. It took a little while to get used to not having that low end torque my Harley has and the Yamaha's ever so quite mufflers felt a little strange but it truly was a fun ride.

I'm a bit lazy, so all these pictures were taken with my Instinct cell phone camera and were uploaded to Photobucket as I rode around. Here are a few pictures on the south side of the island so they are not the quality I might have from my digital SLR.

Panoramic Upcountry view looking west toward Lanai.

The rest are on the road to Makena Landing and La Perouse Bay.

Okay, I realize I haven't added any pictures of Darlene, fish, bikinis or various serpents, but the soul intent of this post was for my third passion....motorcycles. SCUBA and photography being the other two.

After my ride, I came home and waited for Darlene to return from her favorite beach. When she arrived, she jumped on the back and we rode double down the beach road and around town for a spell. Ah, to be 21 again.
Out near Ahihi Preserve.

OK, that's about it for the motorcycle stuff. I'll post some diving and fish stuff in a later post.
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C R Albritton

Hurricanes: Same song, second verse

Three years ago, when hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped into Louisiana and neighboring states, it was bad. This year seems to be just a new verse to a tired old song. Shortly after Hurricane Gustav knocked us senseless in Baton Rouge and southeast Louisiana, Hurricane Ike did it's thing much like Rita did when she came ashore following Katrina in 2005 and devestated southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. At this writing, the storm related death toll is 13 for Ike.

Darlene's uncle, aunt and cousins in the Lake Charles and Hackberry areas suffered extreme damage in Hurricane Rita and just three years later, we find her uncle and aunt watching the encroaching flood waters come within 2 feet of their door step.

Even worse was the fate of her cousin in Hackberry who had just rebuilt after the last hurricane and now found their new home with 5 feet of water in it.

There are cousins just west of Houston without power but are not severely damaged. I too, have cousins and an aunt in Houston that I have not heard from yet.

We are so sorry for everyone's trials and loss.

Hurricane Gustav (update)

Hurricane Gustav (update) Thanks be to God, the thing has left us with, relatively speaking, only minimal amounts of damage. For me and mine, my family is safe and the house is still standing and apart from a limb or two down on my kids' homes, limited telephone service and no electricity in places, we're just happy as we can be. Adios, Hurricane Gustav, adios.

That being said, I'm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Maui fretting about the condition of my family and friends. My children have never known a life without air conditioning and electronic gadgets and find life challenging in spite of their ability to adapt. Estimates for many areas in and around Baton Rouge are 3 to 4 weeks before electricity will be restored including my own place. For those without generators that means a lot of food spoiling and having to be disposed of.

Baton Rouge churches and volunteer organizations do what they can and have provided things like ice and food for anyone that needs it. They also provide an outlet for those needing to feel like they are doing something for someone by providing a way for them to serve. My own church, Healing Place Church, on Highland Road said there were as many as 600 volunteers daily passing out thousands of pounds of ice, cutting fallen trees and helping with essential services. (picture source: http://www.dinorizzo.com/) All very important to perpetuate a sense of community and show love in the Name of Jesus, the God we love. That's what it's all about.

Meanwhile, I'll sit here in Hawaii with survivor's guilt, thinking of my family in Louisiana and how they're dealing with every day life much like how I grew up. The worst part is, they were suddenly thrown into it without much preparation.

Here's some pictures taken from my daughter's street on Tupelo.  

You might also check out this website (unsolicited - I don't know these people) http://eveysblissfulgarden.com/Gustav/

Hurricane Gustav

Sunday night, August 31, 2008:

With a lot of trepidation, Darlene and I boarded the plane Sunday morning in Baton Rouge, headed for Maui. Friday and Saturday, we had made plans for the possibility of Hurricane Gustav hitting our home in southeast Louisiana. We had made plans to fly to Hawaii for several months now but as time approached and with all the news of an impending storm, we found ourselves packing up and leaving with mixed emotions.

Two years ago, we were on Maui when the earthquake happened. It was a first for both of us. Darlene was still in bed when the thing began to shake the condo while I was downstairs watching the chandelier sway.After the third time she had warned me to "quit shaking the bed", she realized it was a quake and when it was over, she ran to the loft balcony, looked down at me still in a state of shock and exclaimed, "Was that a ....... hurricane !!!?"

Two weeks ago, I was riding out tropical storm Fay in St Augustine, Florida and it was a nuisance but Gustav is a storm to be reckoned with. Any many ways it might be as devastating as Katrina.

As I sit here in Kihei, Maui, HI, I somehow wish I were there to ride out the storm with my kids and to watch over our own home. Hopefully there will be a home to return to. We shall see how it all unfolds in the next 24 hours.

A whole month off

Monday, home office told me they had no place to send me just for a week because I had a 3 week vacation coming up and they didn't want to send me out only to send me home again Friday. So, after major foul ups from the Carlson-Wagonlit Travel/Booking agent and airport delays from Tropical Storm Fay, I finally made it into Baton Rouge around 10 PM Monday night and glad to be there.

A new starter for Boudreau lay on the carport floor and winked at me and called my name as the garage door raised and we drove in. After Darlene left for work Tuesday morning, I had purposed myself to get the new starter installed, get the carport clean and be able to take a late afternoon ride.

As fate would have it, the nice folks at J & P cycles had sent me the wrong starter and poor Boudreau sat all torn apart. The nice lady somewhere in Iowa promised me they would get another right out but there was no chance it would get here before we boarded the plane for Maui Sunday morning.

So, I guess Boudreau will have to weather out Hurricane Gustav with all kinds of little greasy parts lying beneath it with only the companionship of Gary's Sportster while Darlene and I dodge falling coconuts on Maui for the next 3 weeks.

Fay, Fay, go away

She wasn't much of a bona fide Hurricane. Shortly after crossing over the Florida Keys, she hit the mainland again and slowed from a category 1 to a tropical storm. However, even though she wasn't a real hurricane, Fay took a slow methodical path up across the state and back into the Atlantic where she just sat there offshore and churned, and churned and churned. Within a weeks time, she had managed to water the entire state down all the way over to Alabama.

Great job Fay. You managed to disrupt business and lives for a week.

Finally, Friday afternoon life began to get back to normal for the northeast corner of the state and the tourists began to show up again by Saturday. Sunday was the first full day of normal August sun and the beach once again had volleyball, sun bathers and surfers.

I'll be wrapping up in St Augustine (3 1/2 months) and probably Monday or Tuesday, I will be looking for an airplane to either get back home for a long awaited vacation back on Maui again.

Five Seconds

Five seconds; not long is it?

In my hotel room, I was watching the Will Smith movie, Legend. There was very little light except for the glow from the laptop screen and just a narrow shaft of light that made it's way across the bed through the partially drawn curtains. The air conditioner was set low and the air was crisp. Condensation had formed droplets of water on the outside of the single large pane causing an eery distortion that prevented clear vision through the haze and I could see no defined objects, buildings or trees.

With the light green glow of a street light filtering through the window, in that short moment, probably five seconds, I struggled mentally just to remember where I was. Where was I? Hawaii? Minnesota? California,? Winter? Summer? No, St Augustine, Florida in mid August, but for five very long seconds I was disoriented and had no clue. Five seconds to decide if I was in familiar surroundings; five seconds to determine if I was safe, well, in a welcomed place or even what planet I was on.

Five seconds is a long time.

Jesus Switch

The air conditioner in my room at the Hampton Inn plays a little game with me. I can set it to 60, 70 or 75...it simply doesn't matter. When I left it this morning, the thermostat was set at 70° but when I arrived from work this afternoon, it was clearly in the mid 70s. As I walked through the door, it immediately perked up and began to hum. Brrrrrrrrmmmmmm.... The same thing happens at night. That thing will freeze me out when I go to bed and the down comforter that's on the bed is really great. Somewhere in the night, when there's no movement in the room it gets warm and I begin kicking off covers. If I have to get up to go (what do I mean, "if"?) to the bathroom, the motion in the room kicks it back on again and the temperature drops again. It reminds me of the T-Shirts and bumper stickers I see, "Jesus Is Coming......Look Busy!"

English as an Inconvenient Second Language

Last week, my son dropped by a Baton Rouge Po-boy establishment to grab a couple of sandwiches. As he entered the shop, he noticed the sign on the glass. "Attention!!! All extra salad dressing and sauces (and gravy) will cost an additional 30 cents - Sorry for the Incontinence - Management".

Thinking it was some kind of offbeat humor, he beckoned a plain vanilla south Louisiana redneck employee and asks, "Are you serious??"

"Absolutely," the sandwich artist responded, "we charge for all extras, sauces, dressings and extra gravy."

My son now realizes all this has gone over the guy's head. "Let me show you something," leading the man to the sign in the window and pointing to the words on the poster, "Incontinence means............well.....(whispering)...you can't hold your pee-pee."

The guy blinks, stares at it a moment then calls a middle eastern lady (management) over to the sign and relates the issue fully to her. Whether in embarrassment or chagrin, she rips the sign down and disappears to the back of the sandwich shop.

While being from another country and trying to hack it out in America brings its challenges with a second language, half the humor is lost in the fact that she had locals working for her and hundreds of Louisiana public educated customers probably passed by that sign and never once caught it either.

So, the joke is really on us all.